Dairne Shanahan
Pioneering current affairs reporter Dairne Shanahan brought social issues like abortion, transsexuality and poverty into the national conversation. Her credits include documentary Women in Power - Indira Gandhi, and current affairs shows Gallery, Close Up, Sunday and 60 Minutes in New Zealand, The Mike Willesee Show in Australia and W5 in Canada.
Allison Webber
Alongside her experience as a journalism tutor and media advisor, Allison Webber has worked on many television documentaries investigating social issues — including as driving force behind then controversial series Expressions of Sexuality.
Gus Roxburgh
Nelson-born Gus Roxburgh, who works in Los Angeles for the media arm of Red Bull, has carved a career by combining his love of the outdoors and his passion for filmmaking. As comfortable in front of the camera as he is behind it, Roxburgh has made films in some of the world’s most dangerous places — from New Zealand’s Southern Alps to the streets of South Los Angeles.
Douglas Drury
Douglas Drury was one of a group of producers who lead an expansion of local television drama at a time — the mid 60s — where New Zealanders rarely saw their own stories on screen. Later, as second in command of state television’s drama department, he helped launch landmark series Pukemanu and initiated NZ's first situation comedy, Buck House. Drury passed away in Australia on 5 February 2016.
Justin Pemberton
Justin Pemberton's work for the screen can be split roughly into two. His eclectic and award-winning run of documentaries includes motor-racing story Love, Speed and Loss and acclaimed Olympic saga The Golden Hour. He has also worked on many music projects, from music videos to documentaries about Anika Moa and the NZ Symphony Orchestra.
Conon Fraser
As writer and presenter of The World Around Us, and producer of Looking at New Zealand, Conon Fraser was an early television celebrity. He joined the National Film Unit in 1969 and continued to make films documenting his adopted country’s landscape and history, and New Zealanders’ way of life. Fraser died on 17 June 2014, aged 84.
James Harris
Welsh-born James Harris played an important role in the founding of the National Film Unit in 1941. A well-educated, versatile filmmaker equally at home behind the camera, operating a splicer or wielding a pen, he spent 26 years with the NFU, mostly as a senior director. Photo credit: Archives New Zealand, reference AAQT 6401 A23,729
Charlie Haskell
After cutting his teeth commanding action scenes for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Charlie Haskell has gone on to direct a range of television dramas: from the American-funded Xena: Warrior Princess and Jack of All Trades, to local productions Tangiwai: A Love Story, The Almighty Johnsons, and the Moa-nominated Pirates of the Airwaves.
Jonathan Brough
Jonathan Brough's short films have screened at Cannes, Edinburgh and America's Slamdance Film Festival. His directing CV includes episodes of Outrageous Fortune, the acclaimed The Insiders Guide to Happiness and mockumentary The Pretender, followed by a run of acclaimed Australian TV comedies (Rosehaven, The Family Law). He also edited award-winning documentary Colin McCahon: I Am.
Robert Steele
A pioneer of the commercial use of 16mm film in post-war New Zealand, Robert Steele is arguably a lost name in the local screen industry. A portrait photographer who was making amateur films in 1930, he spent several years in his native Australia before returning to NZ for good in 1937. Steele screened his films at workplaces and trade fairs, and was a major producer of commercials in the first decade of Kiwi television.